In recent years, commercial aircraft manufacturers have been increasingly focused on designing and developing more fuel-efficient aircraft. An increase in fuel-efficiency produces cost savings over the lifetime of aircraft as fuel prices continue to trend higher. The fuel efficiency of an aircraft is typically a function of aerodynamic drag and fuel burn. The aerodynamic drag and the fuel burn of the aircraft may be reduced as an aspect ratio of the aircraft wings is increased. In aeronautics, a long, narrow wing has a high aspect ratio in comparison to a short, wide wing, which has a low aspect ratio. Thus, increasing a wingspan of an aircraft is an efficient method of increasing the aspect ratio.
Increasing the wingspan of an aircraft may reduce the aerodynamic drag and the fuel burn of the aircraft. However, increasing the wingspan of the aircraft to lengths that are beyond the wingspans of current aircraft may produce difficulties for conventional airports with limited gate and taxiway spacing. Many airports can accommodate aircraft that have a wingspan up to a conventional maximum length. By increasing the wingspan beyond the conventional maximum length, the aerodynamic drag and the fuel burn of the aircraft may be reduced at the expense of being able to land and/or maneuver at airports.